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Hatch laments loss of civility for US Senate in ‘crisis’

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Outgoing U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah bemoaned the disappearance of political civility, kinship and cross-party collaboration during a farewell speech where he called the Senate a legislative body in “crisis.”

The 84-year-old Hatch spoke Wednesday on the Senate floor in Washington. He will step down next month as the longest-serving Republican senator in history after serving 42 years.

Hatch said senators must “rise above the din and divisiveness of today’s politics” and called for greater unity. He highlighted his working relationship with the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

He also called on the Senate to find ways to protect people’s religious liberties while also shielding LGBTQ people from discrimination.